Timor-Leste’s national oil company Timor Gap has said that the country’s offshore areas could hold “world-class” oil and gas resources.
The company has received encouraging interpretation of its 2016 Crocodile seismic survey carried out by BGP Prospector, a 12 streamer seismic vessel over the PSC TL-SO-15-01 block.
The PSC block is located approximately 50km southeast of Timor’s island eastern tip, within exclusive Timor-Leste maritime borders, midway between Timor and the Greater Sunrise gas-condensate field and covered by modern broadband 2D and 3D seismic surveys.
Following the completion of the 2780-square-kilometer Crocodile 3D seismic survey, in early 2017, a contract for a full prospectivity assessment including interpretation of the 3D seismic, AVO analysis, play analysis, prospect ranking and economics was awarded to CGG, a France-based geocience company.
Timor Gap has informed that according to initial results from this assessment by CGG GeoConsulting geoscientists the seismic data reveals clearly the geology in the ‘subthrust’ zone beneath the northern slope of the Timor Trough.
The data allows the imaging of more than 30 individual closed seismic structures at various geological levels (Jurassic, Triassic and Permian), frequently stacked vertically, in 17 geographically distinct locations.
Further prospective resources have yet to be determined by CGG GeoConsulting experts, but the size of structures suggests the potential for substantial hydrocarbon accumulations closer to Timor-Leste’s shoreline, Timor Gap said. This includes a previously unrecognized exploration fairway in intermediate water depths which provides several highly attractive exploration drilling targets.
“The identification of prospects in the Triassic and Permian formations represent a game changer for exploration in the region. To date many prospects and exploration plays have all been found the Jurassic formation,” Timor Gap said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Crocodile project was funded by the Timor-Leste Government through TIMOR GAP. The final results should prove the overall project to be a highly valuable investment for petroleum exploration in the sovereign territory of Timor-Leste, the company said.